Thistle seeking to be Kings

Lothian THISTLE, 5-2 winners against Preston Athletic at the weekend in their first outing since mid-November when they lost the Alex Jack Cup final to Stirling University, are in King Cup first-round action tonight when they host Capital rivals Tynecastle at Saughton Enclosure (kick-off 7.15pm).

Thistle's Ritchie Wilkes is unavailable although Jamie Paterson returns after suspension. Tynecastle, meanwhile, leapfrogged both Selkirk and Civil Service Strollers to give themselves some breathing space at the bottom of the table with new signing Darren Thomson scoring on his debut in their 4-2 win against Heriot-Watt University at the weekend. Manager Murray Balloch has a full squad to choose from including on-loan Hearts defender Dale O'Hara.